The all-new Citroen C4 was launched in the Saudi market, at Jeddah’s Citroen showroom on Thursday.

Omar M. Bakhashab, DGM of Bakhashab Brothers Holding, the exclusive dealer of Citroen in the Kingdom, expressed confidence about the new model and noted the “satisfaction of clients and consumers due to the high performance of the car.”

He said the car satisfied the requirements of executive vehicle buyers in terms of quality and reliability by setting new standards in development, design and industrial production.

“It is clear that the quality features related to Citroen car manufacturing match with the international levels,” he said, adding that the new model “has a lot of features that are not available in many of the competing models.”

The new car is packed with engineering innovations and stylish design.

“It is a perfect balance of aerodynamic exterior styling and useful practicality integrally compatible with active dynamic lifestyle. It sets new standards with a surprisingly spacious cabin and interior comfort for all occupants to relax and enjoy the ride,” he added.

Safety plays the most important role in C4 and doing everything possible to prevent accidents is the key priority not only for the occupants of the car but also for the pedestrians.

The car has an electronic parking brake that engages and disengages automatically and is linked to the engine torque on application to ensure it is always engaged with the required strength to hold the car.

Lulu Hypermarket has launched an 11-day beauty event.

The promotion is on at Lulu’s three major outlets in Riyadh and Alkhobar.

As part of the event, Lulu is exhibiting world-class health and beauty products and the customers are being offered big discounts on products from major brands such as Unilever, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nivea, Jergens, Yardley and Dettol.

“We are getting good and positive support from our valued customers and this is the reason why we are trying to cater to their needs,” said Shehim Mohammed and Abdul Basheer, regional directors at Lulu Saudi Arabia.

“One of the special attractions of the ongoing event is that customer stands a chance to win a free family trip to Malaysia, Dubai or Egypt, if he/she buys any product from Unilever,” said Y. M. Rafeek, manager, buying division, Lulu Saudi Arabia.

“This is Lulu’s joint promotion with Unilever.”

The event will continue up to Sunday.

A number of special programs have been lined up for Lulu customers in all of its outlets.

A henna designing competition for girls above 8 years of age will be conducted on Wednesday.

“A talent show for children called ‘Lulu Little Prince’ and ‘Lulu Little Princess’ is to be held at Lulu Alkhobar on Thursday,” said Lulu Alkhobar GM K. Hashim.

“A free dental checkup camp will be held on the same day,” he said.

Lulu is also conducting a Dream Drive promotion in which five Mercedes Benz cars are to be given to the lucky customers.

This promotion will continue till Nov. 11.

Saudi German Hospital, Jeddah, opened a new specialized diabetic foot clinic recently.

The center was necessitated due to the increasing number of diabetic patients, Dr. Ezz Alarab M. Ahmed, chief operating officer at SGH, said. Among the increasing number of diabetic patients, those complaining of diabetic foot problems are also prominent, he said, adding: “If diabetic foot problems are badly managed, it may lead to amputation.”

The opening of the specialized clinic is part of the hospital’s commitment to the community and part of its efforts to create awareness of the diabetic patients about the foot care they have to take, he added.

The diabetic foot clinic treats complications like infections, inflammations, and vascularity impairment in lower limps either by therapeutic catheters and stents applications, or open surgeries.

The clinic also serves prophylactic measures like feet circulation check-up, feet care, etc.

The clinic is run by the vascular surgery department team chaired by Dr. Mahmoud Salah in coordination with orthopedics, plastic surgery, dermatology and internal medicine department teams.

SGH Group President Sobhi Batterjee said such an important and highly specialized clinic had been established in all of the group’s hospitals inside and outside the Kingdom.

Olaf Berlien, chairman of the North Africa and Middle East Initiative of the German Economy (NMI) and board member of ThyssenKrupp AG, is visiting Riyadh for two days from Friday (Oct. 28).

The visit underlines German economy’s profound will to play a key role as a sustainable partner for transfer of technology and know-how to Saudi Arabia.

During the visit, Berlien will meet high-ranking Saudi business and other leaders, according to Florian Mader, head of public relations at German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (AHK Saudi Arabia), said.

Germany is the third most important supplier for Saudi Arabia in the world behind the US and China.

The diversification of the economy, the establishment of job creating industries and the technology and knowledge transfer are fields in which German businesses have been working successfully with their Saudi Arabian partners for many decades.

The mutual trust is reflected in the statistics as well.

During the first half of 2011 German exports increased by 17 percent to reach a total value of $4.2 billion.

One-fifth of all German exports to MENA-countries go to Saudi Arabia, which today is Germany’s most important trading partner in the region.

The NMI serves as the common economic platform to promote sustainable economic partnerships between Germany and the countries of the MENA-region.

It is articulating the interests of German economy toward government officials, Mader added.

Emirates has strengthened its commitment to Tunis with the introduction of two extra flights, meaning that it will fly six times weekly from Sunday (Oct. 30).

Services to Tunisia are operated by A330-200 aircraft in a three-class configuration, featuring 12 luxurious First Class seats, 42 seats in Business Class and generous space for 183 passengers in Economy Class.

The increased services will add almost 3,800 seats per month in each direction, providing a welcome boost to tourism and economic growth in Tunisia.

“Tunis is a significant market for Emirates and these additional flights are a testament to our growing presence in the market since we began operations to Tunisia five years ago,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates’ SVP commercial operations for Africa.

“More services mean more flexibility and choice for our customers, enabling them to select the travel times which best suit them, as well as enabling easy connections to points across the Far and Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Europe and Australasia via the airline’s hub in Dubai,” added Grillet.

Customers in all cabins will enjoy meals prepared by gourmet chefs, award-winning service from the airline’s international cabin crew recruited from over 120 countries, as well as the airline’s industry leading ice (information, communication, entertainment) system that offers hundreds of channels on-demand entertainment and the facility to send and receive e-mails and text messages.

Qatar Airways has announced plans to launch scheduled flights to Libya’s second largest city of Benghazi on Nov. 1.

Operating four-times-a-week non-stop from Doha, the newest route will take the number of destination launches by the airline to 15 during 2011.

As part of the airline’s aggressive route expansion strategy to fly to diverse cities, Benghazi is yet another destination which is underserved and will benefit from new international flights.

Benghazi, Libya’s northeastern Mediterranean port city and major economic center, is a key destination for trade and exports.

Many industries including oil refining, food processing, cement production and tuna fishing, reside in the surrounding region of Cyrenaica, of which Benghazi is the capital.

Qatar Airways has a well-established presence in Libya, having initially operated services to Tripoli eight years ago.

Flights to Tripoli are currently suspended due to the political situation, but are expected to resume soon.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker welcomed the latest addition to the growing family of new routes introduced this year.

He said Qatar Airways continues to strive to provide a network to cater for all travel segments, conveniently connecting through its Doha hub.

Al-Baker said Qatar Airways will operate the route with an Airbus A320 dual configuration aircraft, offering 12 seats in First Class and 132 in Economy.

Benghazi will be the airline’s 13th route of the year, and precedes two other new route launches — Entebbe and Chongqing — starting on Nov. 2 and Nov. 28, respectively.